BORDERLAND

ODOT fails to get salt for struggling areas

The Ohio Department of Transportation asked for up to 210,000 tons of rock salt to help struggling counties, townships, and municipalities with their snow and ice control needs. Its leaders hoped to get 150,000 tons.

What they actually got: zilch.

No bids were received for any of 21 contracts the state advertised last week to deliver 10,000-ton loads of salt to any of seven stockpiles statewide during the next 30 days or so, ODOT officials announced Friday.

ODOT “planned to charge nothing for the road salt and instead was asking communities to return the salt once their supplies were replenished,” according to a department statement.

So far this winter, ODOT has spread more than 880,000 tons on the roadways it maintains, the department said.

Although state officials expect their supplies to last the rest of the winter, some communities have nearly exhausted their supplies and many are rationing what they have left in hopes of having enough to melt ice and snow at least in the most dangerous areas, such as intersections.